


Heart Exchange

by Dalian



Series: Dramaturgy of a Kamen Rider [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Build
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, M/M, Mutual Pining, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28311123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalian/pseuds/Dalian
Summary: White snow, sparkling streetlights, and delicious food, what else not to love about Christmas. While the inhabitants of the Nascita cafe don't have much to celebrate, a gift or two won’t hurt, right?
Relationships: Banjou Ryuuga & Kiryuu Sento, Banjou Ryuuga/Kiryuu Sento
Series: Dramaturgy of a Kamen Rider [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074416
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Heart Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  
> Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! Please enjoy this Christmas gift!!

This whole situation is a big coincidence...right? 

“Here.” Ryūga said merrily, revealing a scarlet red paper bag before the physicist’s eyes. If this had fallen within the dormant days of part-timing Build and as a genius physicist, Sento natural response would sum up in one question: ”What is this?” 

Today is definitely not one of those days. It's the most anticipated last week of every year. It’s a Christmas present. A young adult living in the metropolis should know of, even celebrate, the Winter holiday. The colour scheme of the gift wrapping is a plus too, solidifying the only day in which this presentation should be given. 

Sento was hesitant, a whirl of confusion and embarrassment confounded him. This curve snowball was thrown at him by none other than Banjou himself. The boxer asked for a one-on-one talk with Sento after dinner, which the genius expected it must have been something about the battle earlier. Suspicion grew in him as Misora seemed to be on it too, hustling everyone down to the lab in the background. It was extra weird when the other male said to give him a moment to fetch something from one of the locked cupboards. 

That's how Sento currently found himself in this situation. Of course, he's flustered. Outside of combat, the two rarely have any sort of gracious exchange. A gift is just so….normal per se.  _ Did he also buy gifts for everyone? _

Banjou's optimistic expression from before falters into a slight frown. Right, the physicist has been leaving him hanging. Sento accepted the gift, still unsure but doesn't want to come off as refusing the sentiment. He warned the simmering suspicion that nothing deep is coming out of this. A friendly gift, nothing more, nothing less. 

It's not like he’s that happy to receive a present from the muscle head. 

The gratitude came out in a whisper tone. ”Thank you.” he said meekly, averting his gaze to the item in hand instead.

A medium-size bag, item not too heavy but the packaging reflexes degree of professionalism. A lovely wine-colored bag, with silver and golden snowflake decadent scattered throughout. There is white tissue paper fix on top, hiding the nature of the gift like a coating of winter snow. Yup, definitely a holiday gift. The scientist's eyes finally peel away from the unknown gift up to its giver, a bit taken back when he saw that the boxer was also looking at him. The younger male lips pressed together, eyeing the older Rider curiously, almost impatient. 

Sento fingers twitched slightly around the grosgrain handles. He decided to take his shot and ask, ”C-can I open it now?”, in which the brunet before him lit up. He nodded, beaming eagerly at the proposal. 

So, the physicist did just that and reached his hand into the bag, passed the crinkly paper until he felt soft cotton greeting the tip of his fingers. The genius assumed that it's some type of apparel. He then went ahead and removed the mystery item, revealing a folded scarf the same complexion as the bag it was kept in. 

”Do you like it?” the boxer asked nervously. That discrete glance and shifting on his feet gave the younger male away.

_ Right, I should say something. _ It's never good to space out like that. ”I do. Thank you.” he repeated, unfolding the present a bit more. Definitely will be the biggest in comparison to the rest of his other infinity scarf. The fabric isn’t exclusively dyed red, plaited black square, green and white lines from one end to another. It's fluffy no matter which side he touches. ”I didn't know you had eyes for these kinds of things.” 

Ryūga rolled his eyes at the usual sarcastic remark. The physicist meant it as a compliment though. ”I got a little bit of help from Misora. It was between this and another blue one.” he added. 

”Definitely a good purchase.” Sento hummed quietly to himself. A blue one doesn’t sound bad either. He put it on, liking the softness and protective warmth that it warrants. Very different from his usual attire.

”Yeah, it’s getting cold nowadays so...” the brunet explained. Reaching for a small corner of the cloth, he rubs it between his thumb and index finger, pleasing with the quality. A coy smile unravels across his face, dark brown eyes look up to meet the older male. The physicist's breath was caught in his throat. ”I doubt all of your cute little scarfs would cut it.” 

Sento can feel his face heat up from the oh-not-so-stubble observation. As poorly as the arrogant genius wanted to frame this faint ruddiness on the scarf of the same color, the flustering in his voice will give it away. 

”Oi, don't get arrogant just because I praise you a little!” Sento exclaimed with little power behind the word. He averted his eyes, hearing the other male snickering loudly, probably from seeing the awkward way the physicist pulling the scarf higher to cover his blushing face. What is wrong with him tonight? ”I’m pretty happy with what I have.” 

”Then, I guess my gift is useless then.” Banjou said softly, more to himself than to the person before him. Despite that low chuckle as he said it, Sento can tell it was just out of courtesy, so it won’t sound too dejected. It makes the genius wonder, from Banjou's perspective, if there's always a cynical undertone to his words. 

_ Why can’t he read the mood? _ Sento mulled, despite knowing that it’s nothing but an innocuous sulk from the younger male. It still put the physicist on the spot, waiting for him to initiate something and melt the icy complexity of the situation. 

”I’ll wear it.” his voice rings firmly. 

The boxer was a bit taken back at the sudden assurance. He stared at the older Rider with an amused reflection. The genius scientist can be quite apprehensive with things unfamiliar to him. Like an actor forgetting his line, it's unfavorable when that well-oiled cogs inside his brain get jammed by unforeseen objects, no longer retaining that absolute precision. Rapid glances, off-beat shifting on both feet, fumbling with words; there’s nothing precise about that. This scene is not within his assigned hero script. The two are off-script now, and Sento is improvising the scenarios like a timid rabbit. 

Banjou opened his mouth, about to comment on the rosiness of Sento’s complexion before he was cut short. ”Wait!! Stay here! I need to get something, okay?!” Sento interrupted. With a finger pointing straight at the other male, his feet already take off into the direction of the lab without giving the younger male a chance to reply. 

Banjou only nodded. The confused ”Okay?” was drowned out by the thundering bang of the metal staircase as his mismatched shoes made contact with it.

It should be where he last left it. He rushed past the other tenant -who was in the process of setting up their bed- and straight for the back corner of the lab, almost bumping into Misora in the process. Everyone's bewildered eyes burned against his back as Sento openly appeared to be rummaging for something. A few seconds went by before the item in mind was pulled into the bright light of the room. Now, other bystanders can also see what set the scientist in such a hurry. 

Misora was the first to speak up. ”You don’t need to be so frantic.” she commented as the older male walked past her with the gift in hand. He turned back and gave her a weird look. It wasn’t a ’What is that?’ or ’Who is it for?’ Misora already knew the answer by the faint blush on the physicist's face.  _ Right, she helped him with picking the scarf. _ Sento reminded himself, couldn't help but to wonder if the gift was her idea all along. ”Be nice about it okay?” 

”I’m trying, Misora.” Sento murmured warily. There is an intrigued shift in expression, yet the younger girl chose to remain silent. All she said was to be careful to not trip on the way back up. That's what he likes about her. As for the other 3 bystanders -puzzled and out of the loop- only observe the two in mutual confusion. 

When he got back, Banjou was still at the exact spot where he instructed him. The Dragon Rider watched in silence as Sento walked toward him, curious eyes already focusing on the noticeable gift bag clutched in his arms. 

”Here!” Sento said as he presented the gift, cheeks burned red like a Christmas hat. 

”For me?” asked Banjou with skepticism. 

Sento wanted to roll his eyes, but recall that it might come off as mean. ”Well, why would I be showing this to you?” 

Thankfully, Banjou accepted it quicker than he did earlier. Now he felt bad for leaving the guy hanging back then. This whole thing is nerve-racking. 

”Thank you.” the brunet said quietly. 

Unlike how Banjou had matched the color of the bag with the gift, the physicist didn't pay much attention to that. The notion of buying a Christmas gift for the muscle head in itself was already humiliating enough. A star-struck idea as the Rider's eyes landed on the sukajan jacket displayed in the mall shop window a month ago. Before he knew it, he had already bought it. The voice of the shopkeeper asking if it's a Christmas gift and which bag he would like snapped Sento back to face reality. As he stood there, in the store, fretting over the reckless purchase and before the eyes of the patience shopkeeper, he picked the first one his eyes landed on from the samples. 

While Banjou went with the Christmas’s signature red, the one Sento picked was more general. Black background glistening with fine grain glitter, painted with gold snowflakes and the saying ’Happy Holiday’ written in the curve across the bottom left. While the other signature color of Cross-Z -besides blue- is orange, gold is as close as he can get. 

Most people who purchased a gift are brimming with excitement for the day to reveal it, but the feeling that donned on the physicist was the complete opposite. It’s a gift, it’s meant to be given, but Sento couldn’t bring himself to do that. So, as cowardly as it sounds, he hid it -in the messiest part of the lab- hoping that the courage he needed to face the Dragon’s Rider will gather, or magically appear, before the Holiday ends. Unfortunately, as they crossed each day off the calendar, Sento only became more dishearten at the prospect. 

”Have a look.” Sento suggested, ”I'm not sure if it's your style. It's fine if you don't like it.”

The sukajan jacket stood out, particularly with its embroidery. While the torso is a dark navy blue, the two sleeves dyed a candy apple red color, embroidered with pink sakura from shoulder to wrist. The animal subjected to this jacket is a deer, which stood proudly on the back. As expected, both the collar and cuffs have a red and blue stripe of the same hue. It might be a bit flashy compared to all of Banjou's usual jackets. 

However, the way his eyes glowed before the jacket tells Sento otherwise. ”This is really cool! Of course I like this. Thank you, Sento.” 

”That’s good then.” Sento mumbled quietly, watching the boxer already trying out the jacket. The two Riders are the same height, so sizing wasn't difficult to get right. It was the design that’s finicky. 

_ I guess it works out in the end. _ If Banjou never gave him the present, Sento wouldn't have known what to do with his. Well, maybe it was just a last-minute proposal from Misora, but the physicist appreciated it nonetheless. 

”By the way, ” Sento interrupted, very pleased with how fitting the jacket looks on the handsome boxer. ”When did you buy the gift?”

Banjou halted in his spot, trying to remember. ”I think...maybe like a month ago? It was a random thought, but when I told Misora, she won't let me back down on it.” 

Yeah, Sento isn't so sure if this is just a very elaborate coincidence. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's cold outside, so make sure to stay warm. We're less than a week from the end of 2020, so let us take this time and appreciate it till the very end.  
> Thank you to those who read my writing this year. I hope that it was to your liking. I'll work harder and release better fanfic next year.  
> With that been said, see you in 2021!


End file.
